OnePlus is set to unveil its second-generation smart television on July 2. Touted to offer premium smart TV experience at accessible price, the India-centric launch announcement was made by company’s CEO and co-founder Pete Lau on Twitter.

“It’s official. We’re making our premium smart TV experience more accessible to our Indian community. #SmarterTV” wrote Lau in a tweet.

In retrospective, OnePlus forayed in to the smart television category with the launch of premium QLED smart televisions. Based on Google Android platform, the first breed of OnePlus smart TV had customised user interface for improved user experience. It also featured voice-enabled remote control with support for Alexa and Google Assistant. Though polished, capable and competitively priced, the OnePlus TV did not do well in India as it was launched on the expensive side of the spectrum.

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Delhi University exams 2020: Attention, DU students! Delhi University will not hold semester exams for second and fourth-semester students of undergraduate programmes. The decision was taken “in view of the prevailing situation of COVID-19 pandemic”. Given the situation, holding pen-and-paper semester exams is “not feasible”, says the notification issued on June 4. Instead, as a one-time measure, an “alternative mode of grading” will be adopted.

Here’s what Delhi University students must know

DU 2nd, 4th semester students

First-year and second-year students who have to give 2nd and 4th semester exam will be spared DU online exams planned for the final-year. Instead, as a one-time measure, an ‘alternative mode of grading’ will be adopted as per composite format for calculating the same for the Intermediate semester/term/year students for academic session 2019-2020 so that students of the university can take their career forward.

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A pregnant elephant in Kerala died recently after eating a pineapple containing firecracker, which exploded in her mouth. There was an outrage on social media following an emotional apology post by forest officer Mohan Krishnan detailing how the animal died. A criminal investigation into suspected cruelty towards animals has since been initiated.

Forestry officials said the incident happened on May 23 in the Palakkad district of Kerala, near a farmland where locals sometimes scattered fruit spiked with firecrackers to discourage animals from damaging crops. “We only know that the injury (to the elephant) was caused by some explosive substance,” said forest official Sunil Kumar. The perpetrators, he said, could face animal cruelty charges which attract fines or even a jail term.

Here’s what happened

The 15-year-old wild elephant, which was two months pregnant, had wandered out of the local Silent Valley National Park in search of food when it consumed the firecracker-spiked fruit.

They later found the elephant trying to cool herself in a stream but as locals tried to heave it out of the water to take it to a treatment centre, the animal collapsed and died. Postmortem report revealed that the elephant died from drowning.

“Sorry sister,” Mohan Krishnan, who witnessed the elephant’s death, wrote in a Facebook post. “With her mouth and tongue destroyed in the explosion, she paced around hungry without being able to eat. She must have been more worried about the health of the child inside her than about her own hunger.”

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The year 2020 began with environmental crisis revealing itself in a disturbing manner. Wildfires ravaged tropical rainforests as if they were arid savannah and the Australian bushfires. Cyclones and floods washed away trees and buildings. Now, locust attacks across Africa and India and the coronavirus pandemic — all these calamities act as a reminder that human health is linked to the planet’s health.

World Environment Day 2020 theme

The theme of World Environment 2020 is ‘celebrating biodiversity’ — a concern that is both urgent and existential. The fact is that the current environmental crisis is a warning that we must heed collectively. We must now fundamentally rethink our relationship with the living world, with natural ecosystems and their biodiversity.

“With one million species facing extinction, there has never been a more important time to focus on biodiversity.” The day will be hosted in Colombia in partnership with Germany.

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Veteran filmmaker Basu Chatterjee, known for his middle-of-the-road cinema and films such as “Chhoti Si Baat” and “Rajnigandha”, died on Thursday from poor health. He was 93.

Basu died in his sleep at his Santacruz residence, news agency PTI reported.

“He passed away peacefully in his sleep in the morning. He wasn’t keeping well for quite some time due to old age and died at his residence. It’s a great loss to the film industry,” Ashoke Pandit, president of the Indian Film & Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA), told PTI.

Pandit said the filmmaker’s last rites will be performed at Santacruz crematorium.

Some of his best known works are “Us Paar”, “Chitchor”, “Piya Ka Ghar”, “Khatta Meetha” and “Baton Baton Mein”.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bhubaneswar has decided to conduct end-semester exams for outgoing students through the online mode to ensure their timely graduation.

The prestigious institution said that “two alternative examinations are scheduled, one from June 24 and another during the end of July or first week of August.”

It further said that in case the pandemic situation normalises by the end of July or the first week of August, the students can come to the IIT campus to appear for the second examination.

ALSO READ: Covid-19: Form special cell for students, HRD Minister tells universities

Earlier this month, in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had also released a notification for conducting remaining examinations of class 10 (only for the northeast district of Delhi) and class 12 (All India) examinations that are scheduled to be held from July 1 to July 15.

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On paper, the PLAYGO BH70 is capable of going toe-to-toe with the best-in-class. But even though it tries really hard to pack everything useful in a pair of headphones — and I appreciate the sincere effort — it falls short on some things that an able pair of ears just can’t miss. In the following paragraphs, allow me to explain why you should or shouldn’t buy these headphones, and what you should consider buying instead. This will be especially useful to people who don’t wish to spend more than Rs 15,000 on a pair of all-purpose headphones, ever.

The construction

  At a time when most gadgets have embraced the beauty of vibrant colours, the PLAYGO BH70 comes in two dull, unimaginative SKUs: Graphite Grey and Medallion Brown. At least a bright silver option would have been nice. For a brand called Play, it’s no fun at all.

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Microsoft is rolling out its new Chromium-based Edge browser via an update to all Windows 10 users that would automatically be installed on Windows 10 version 1803 and higher.

The update would cover vast majority of Windows 10 versions that are currently supported. Installing Chromium Edge via the Windows Update will replace the old Edge browser. Since it is been gradually rolled out, it will reach people in the due course of time.

 The Chromium-based Edge browser provides best-in-class compatibility with extensions and websites.

ALSO READ: Review: PLAYGO BH70 AI wireless headphones are a bit out of tune

According to Microsoft, this new version also provides great support for the latest rendering capabilities, modern web applications, and powerful developer tools across all supported OS platforms.

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India’s services activity, after suffering a shock collapse to an unprecedented low level in April, recovered marginally in May 2020, showed IHS Markit Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) numbers released on Wednesday.

Even as the headline figure rose from April’s all-time low of 5.4, it remained at 12.6 during May, a level unparalleled in over 14 years of data collection, barring the recent months that have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The numbers in April and May point to an extreme drop in services activity across India, mainly due to the nationwide lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of the virus.

A PMI reading above 50 denotes expansion, while one below that level implies contraction in activity. India, which first went for a nationwide lockdown on March 24, has seen the restrictions being extended four times since. At present, a fifth phase of lockdown is in force only in demarcated containment zones.

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Google has pulled down the ‘Delete China Apps’ app from its application distribution platform Play Store for Android devices. Though the search giant did not detail the reason, it is learned that the app was taken down for violating Google Play Store’s Deceptive Behaviour Policy, according to a news report in TechCrunch.

Developed by Jaipur-based app development and web designing start-up OneTouchAppLabs, the Remove China Apps gained popularity in India largely because of a growing anti-China sentiment due to border dispute between India and China in the Pangong region of higher Himalayas. Launched in April, the app soon became the top free app and the top trending app on Google app store. It had crossed a million downloads within a short span of 15 days, and had a 4.8 star rating out of 5 star on the Play Store before it was taken down.

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